‘We Didn’t Think It Was Anything Anyone Would Buy’: The Newbeats’ ‘Bread and Butter’
‘200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs’ Book Excerpt
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“Bread and Butter” was a №2 hit in 1964 for the Newbeats: lead singer Larry Henley and brothers Dean and Mark Mathis. The group formed in Shreveport, LA, and was signed by Hickory Records on the strength of a demo of “Bread and Butter.”
The song was written by Jay Turnbow and Larry Parks and placed with the Newbeats by music publisher Acuff-Rose. Henley told Classic Bands how the group came to record the catchy hit.
“We got it in the mail. Oddly enough, it was written by two guys from my hometown and none of us knew each other. It was just a coincidence. That was back in the day of the Beatles. Mostly everything you heard was English. ‘Bread And Butter’ was the only thing out there that was just the opposite and so it hit for that reason I think.”
The song features Henley’s falsetto. “I had a record deal because of my falsetto voice. We sent in a demo, and I can’t remember what the song was called. In those days they wanted to do four songs on a record.
“We looked all over town and we already had three songs. And we came across ‘Bread And Butter.’ We thought it was funny. We didn’t think it was anything anyone would really buy. The other guys in the Newbeats wanted to make it into a record, so we did.
“We were on tour at the time the record came out. We expected it to be a hit because all the musicians in the studio that played on it stood up and applauded after we did it. So we figured it must be a hit.”
The Newbeats followed “Bread and Butter” with “Run Baby Run (Back Into My Arms),” a №12 hit in 1965. The Newbeats disbanded in 1974.
Henley moved to Nashville and began a successful career as a songwriter. Henley co-wrote “Wind Beneath My Wings” with Jeff Silber. Bette Midler recorded the song, a №1 hit in 1989, for the soundtrack of the 1988 film Beaches.
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs and 200 Greatest 70s Rock Songs.
